April 2023: Arkansas House Pass New Maternity Leave Bill

Update Applicable to:
All employers of 50 or more full-time employees in the state of Arkansas.

What happened?
On February 13, 2023, the Arkansas House voted to pass House Bill 1006 (HB 1006), which will amend employment laws and require certain employers to provide paid maternity leave.

What are the details?
The new bill, HB 1006, requires companies with 50 or more full-time employees “that [cover] abortions or travel expenses related to abortions for employees” to also pay for 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.

To count as full-time, the employee must work at the company for each working day during 20 or more “calendar work weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.”

The bill would apply only to employees enrolled in the company’s health care plan and are birth mothers.

The bill is supposedly based on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires employers to allow their workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reasons.

The Arkansas Senate will still need to pass the bill to continue.

For more information, please see the links below:

House Bill 1006 (HB 1006)

Article 1 – Article 2

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above and should be on the lookout for any more news regarding this bill. Vensure will continue to provide more updates once more information has been received.